Chapter 287: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 287: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (5)
It had been three days since I parted ways with Hina and began my officer training.
I did only what was necessary.
“Jin Seo-yun, you skipped class again today.”
At the instructor’s words, I leaned back against my desk and lifted my head.
“Listening to something I’ve already heard feels like a waste of time.”
“…Don’t get too cocky just because you got a special recommendation from the higher-ups.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I replied dismissively. But my tone seemed to grate on his nerves, and a moment of silence followed.
“That attitude will come back to bite you one day.”
I let out a small laugh at his words.
I’ll think about it when it does.
I half-listened to the lecture, simply waiting for the next class.
Mobile Weapons.
Finally, it was time to get my hands on one.
Of course, I couldn’t pilot a real unit from the get-go. After three days of theory, today was the day we finally began simulator training.
And as the massive, humanoid machine came into view, my heart pounded.
A gray, worn-out frame. Faded paint in several spots.
And yet, its form was steeped in the thick stench of the battlefield.
Hah… Now this is a man’s dream. This is sex.
《Cradle》
A D-class, old-generation unit. An outdated model. A machine built decades ago.
…It’s old, but it’s still cool.
Its shoulders were heavy, its frame made of tens of tons of steel. The weapon hardpoints were empty, but even in its calm, crouched position, it exuded a strange sense of pressure.
“You all know the name of this unit, I presume?”
The training instructor’s voice, standing on the command platform, echoed throughout the training ground.
“Yes, sir!”
The cadets around me answered in unison.
Finally, things are getting interesting.
“First, as you’ve been taught, you will each connect to a simulator and conduct tactical training.”
The instructor’s voice rang out.
“The training will be conducted in three-person teams, squad versus squad. Each team will be deployed to a virtual battlefield and must destroy the enemy team as you would in a real battle.”
A wave of tension filled the air. No one was taking this as a joke.
This training was a direct factor in the selection of pilot candidates.
“The mock battle will be evaluated on a real-time scoring system. You will gain points for destroying enemy units, and there is a bonus for surviving teammates. If there is no victor within the time limit, the winner will be decided by the total points.”
The team assignments appeared on the HUD.
[Team 07: Jin Seo-yun / Brian / Kang Ho-taek]
VS
[Team 12: Rin / Aoki / Harold]
I read the screen with a blank expression before moving to my simulator.
The cockpit was old and cramped, but the sensation was strangely familiar.
Control sticks were fixed on both sides.
As I pressed the pedals, the servos in the unit’s lower body responded. My vision opened up, and a digital battlefield unfolded before me.
[Virtual Battlefield: Industrial Ruin Zone B-14]
[Objective: Annihilate the enemy or secure a point advantage]
[Time Limit: 10 minutes]
[Simulation begins in 30 seconds]
Brian was the first to open the comms.
[Brian: I’ll take the high ground on the left. Kang Ho-taek, pressure the center. Jin Seo-yun, cover our rear on the right.]
[Kang Ho-taek: Let’s not push too hard. Prioritize securing vision, right?]
I listened to their chatter expressionlessly, then threw in a single, short sentence.
“You two cover me.”
[Brian: …What?]
[Kang Ho-taek: What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull now!]
[5… 4… 3…]
I cut the comms and quietly moved my unit forward.
[2… 1…]
[Simulation Start]
My unit shot forward the moment the simulation began.
A charge? No.
It was a pursuit, tracing a precise, lethal path.
“What the hell is that bastard doing?!”
“He’s rushing out alone?!”
Brian and Kang Ho-taek’s voices exploded over the comms simultaneously.
But I paid them no mind.
Breaking through the gaps in the ruined steel frames, I detected three fixed heat signatures from the enemy team ahead.
Enemy 1, 34 degrees ahead. High-ground firing position.
Enemy 2, taking cover behind it.
Enemy 3, flanking. Careless.
This will be over in two seconds.
The unit lowered its torso, entering a leaping motion.
I veered slightly to the left, and the unit curved in a half-moon trajectory along a rail.
Clang!
In an instant, Enemy 1’s upper torso was severed at the hip joint while it remained stationary.
“Wha—?! What was that?!”
Team 12’s pilot, Rin, screamed.
But by then, my unit had already reached the next target.
Before Enemy 2’s targeting reticle could even track me on its HUD, my unit suddenly dropped into a knee slide, digging in low as if to shave off its legs.
Crash!
The second unit’s balancing mechanism exploded, and it staggered before crashing into a wall.
[Team 12 - Aoki has been eliminated]
Only one remained. Harold’s fleeing unit frantically fired its boosters from the rear, trying to escape…
You can’t escape from that angle.
My unit leaped lightly, kicked off the debris on top of a building, and ricocheted.
Twisting its torso, it landed and simultaneously rotated the blades in both hands in a cross slash.
BOOM!
A direct hit.
The unit’s chest caved in, and its internal power died.
[Team 12 - Defeated]
[Team 07 - Victorious]
The comms fell silent.
Brian and Kang Ho-taek were still frozen in their starting positions.
“…What… was that…?”
The personnel watching the simulation stared blankly at the scene, their mouths agape.
The instructor was no different.
Jin Seo-yun.
The man who had been suddenly transferred into the officer training program.
A guy with a rotten personality.
He had assaulted a fellow cadet on the first day, ignored the instructors’ orders, and for three days straight, had not attended any class other than mobile weapon theory.
…It wouldn’t have been strange to have him arrested under military law.
‘Disregard for discipline,’ ‘Insubordination,’ ‘Uncontrollable.’
So he had submitted a request for a disciplinary review to his superiors. But it was immediately withdrawn.
He hadn’t understood it at the time. Why the higher-ups would intervene for a single, worthless trainee.
But now, he thought he knew why.
…That crazy bastard.
The instructor muttered the words unconsciously.
“…Is that… talent?” another instructor whispered beside him.
“He’s a madman, alright… in terms of both personality and skill…”
Hearing this, the instructor let out a soft breath and replayed the unit’s movements on the monitor.
The trajectory it followed—breaking through the encirclement, slashing the flank, evading and turning, then moving toward the next target without a hint of hesitation.
“…A real battle would be different, but still, that’s some insane talent.”
The instructor muttered under his breath and looked toward the simulator entrance.
Jin Seo-yun was just stepping out of the cockpit.
He wasn’t sweating, nor was his breathing ragged. His eyes were indifferent, as if he were bored. He even looked a little listless.
…God is truly unfair.
The instructor clicked his tongue.
Giving such instincts and skill to a man with such a messed-up personality was a truly lamentable combination.
But as soon as Jin Seo-yun stepped out of the simulator, he casually set his helmet aside and spoke.
“Ah—”
He rolled his shoulders slightly and slowly flexed the fingers he had used to pilot.
“They were so weak, I didn’t even get to enjoy myself.”
*
“Colonel~ I’m bored~”
A flippant voice. At the man’s words, which were completely out of place in the serious atmosphere, a red-haired woman with a colonel’s insignia on her uniform turned her head with an indifferent gaze.
A familiar weariness was already settled in her eyes.
“Jack, if you have nothing to do, go to the training grounds and run some simulations.”
The man laced his hands behind his head and crossed his long legs.
“Aw, come on. That’s for washed-up losers.”
She didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow.
“I’ve pointed out that attitude of yours before.”
“And I’ve always—”
He snapped his fingers and grinned.
“—shown you with results, haven’t I?”
The colonel’s expression remained unchanged as she lowered her gaze back to her documents.
“So, what are you looking at so intently?”
Jack asked, propping his chin on his hand.
“A new candidate.”
“A candidate? Don’t tell me… we’re getting another rookie?”
A playful tone entered his voice.
“That’s not it,” the colonel replied calmly.
“However, I’m personally interested, so I’m reviewing his records.”
Jack’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“…Oh, I don’t know who it is, but hearing that they’ve caught the Colonel’s attention is making me grow quite jealous.”
“It’s not that kind of interest,” the colonel said, cutting him off flatly. She then turned the screen, which was playing a combat clip, toward Jack.
“Jack. What do you think?”
“Let’s see.”
Jack crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, glancing at the screen.
A few seconds.
In just a few seconds, his expression changed.
“Wow, his movements are good, and his reflexes and trajectory calculations are precise.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“If he’s this good in a Cradle, he’ll be far more threatening in a higher-tier unit.”
Jack said, tearing his eyes away from the screen.
“So that’s your assessment.”
“Yes. But he still shows signs of being a rookie.”
The colonel nodded silently. Then, she slowly rose from her seat.
“Jack.”
She straightened her uniform and said, “For the time being, hand my duties over to Torno.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Well now, what’s the sudden occasion?”
“I’m going to evaluate him myself.”
“Oh! I want to go too.”
Jack pushed his chair back and stood up. She looked at him silently for a moment.
“Haa…”
She let out a short sigh, then her words trailed off lightly.
“Fine. You’d just force your way along even if I said no.”
Jack grinned and lifted his chin.
“That’s our Colonel for you. You know me so well.”
She didn’t reply to him further.
*
A yawn escaped my lips out of sheer boredom.
This damn political education was the same everywhere.
The instructor’s voice turned into a lullaby within ten seconds, and a sleep-inducing resonance filled the auditorium.
Why the hell does this crap even exist…
I leaned back deep into my chair, letting the instructor’s passionate speech go in one ear and out the other.
“Comradeship is survival. And survival begins with devotion to the organization…”
More important than that was the fact that I had piloted a mobile weapon for the first time yesterday.
Unlike the simulation, there’s a slight response delay.
The simulation room did a good job of replicating the cockpit, but there was a clear difference.
Lately, this interested me more than sex. Not that I’d stopped trying to pick up women, though.
The problem is, there aren’t any decent women around.
At that moment.
—Click.
The lecture hall door opened, and a new instructor walked in.
“Excuse me for a moment. All cadets, attention.”
“Attention!”
“The tactical cooperation mock drill scheduled after the political education has been canceled.”
A murmur went through the crowd.
“It will be replaced with mobile weapon combat training.”
“…Oh.”
A faint smile crept onto my lips.
Bonus
